Rich Franklin is a man who has made his name in the UFC off of great fights, middleweight dominance (before Anderson Silva) and respect. That, mixed in with results have left Franklin as one of the most successful, fan-loved figures in the UFC.
Luiz Cane, however, has used brutality and KO's to establish somewhat of a name for himself in the UFC.
With his only loss coming by disqualification at UFC 79 to James Irvin, Cane has not lost since then, with wins over Jason Lambert, Sokoudjou, and recently making his UFC debut, Steve Cantwell.
What does this mean for Cane? Better than that; what does this mean for the UFC?
Fighting Franklin is a big step up in competition for Cane, fighting a man that just came off a very impressive victory over Wanderlei Silva. Cane's striking is very dangerous, but likely shouldn't be compared to the ferocity of Silva.
For Franklin, this could be a nice filler bout, waiting amid the results of UFC 101's loser between Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin. An impressive win over Cane could give Franklin a shot at Silva at 205 or Griffin, whomever loses the bout.
For Cane, a win over Franklin provides a nice win to his resume, and some better competition in the very near future. Dana White will likely take a Cane win, and glorify it to the point of calling him the next Cain Velasquez at 205. Is that the case?
Either way, it's an interesting bout to say the least, and one matchmaker Joe Silva should take a look at before passing aside. It won't be your standard striker-grappler bout, which should mean both guys will be looking to throw.
Combined, Franklin and Cane have 21 TKO wins (compared to just 10 total submission wins-9 coming from Franklin) so this has the makings of a good bout.
Cane's requested it. It's in your hands now Joe Silva.
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